Automobile steering connection



Dec. 15, 1925- F. P. PRINDLE ET AL AUTOMOBILE STEERING CONNECTION FiledApril 7, 1920 Patented Dec. 15, 1925.

UNITED .STATES I 1,565,956 PATENT OFFICE.

rnANx r. PRINDLE AND RALPH H. noAnnMAN, or NEW BRITAINQCONNECTICUT,AssreNoas 'ro THE STANLEY WORKS, or NEWBRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORA-TION OF CONNECTICUT.

AUTOMOBILE STEERING CONNECTION. i

Application led April 7, 1920.' Serial No. 371,832. 'l

To all whom 'it may concem: l Be it known that we, FmNK P. IRNnm andRALrH H. BOARDMAN, citizens of the United States, and residents of NewBritain, in the county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, have inventedcertain new and ruseful Improvements in Automobile Steering Connections,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to steering connections for automobiles and moreparticularly to the 4drag links 4and ball and socket arrangements theinvention is to provide a structure of this sort which is simple inconstruction,

economic in manufacture, and strong, dura# ble and efficient in use.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein the preferred embodiment of theinvention is shown,

Fig. 1

entinvention are incorporated.

Fig. 2 is a view' of a drag link, the ball and socket arrangements onthe ends there-v of being in central longitudinal section.

Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section through one end of the draglink, the removable parts within the socket member thereof beingomitted, and

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a spring employed in each of the balland socket con-4 nections.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, which is merely disclosed toillustrate one application ofA the present invention, a is the steeringpost carrying at its lower end a steering arm b provided with a ball c;d,

a connecting rod having a yoke member at each end adapted to bepivotally secured to the knuckles of the steeringwheels; e, a ballcarried by the connecting rod d; and vM designates the drag link havingat each. end a socket member 11 adapted to receive balls c and e, ashereinafterv described m-ore in detail.

The construction of the drag link M forms an important feature of thepresent -inven-v tion. This drag link includes a rod 12 having at eachend an abutment or rib 18 and a projecting stud 14.-. Preferably, therod 12 is of wrought metal and is constructed from a rod of likediameter throughout its length. The ribs V13 by preference are' `dies toopposite sidesfo thereof. The object of 'socket' memberfially 1s a Viewof a steering connec-` j tion in which the improvements ofthe pres-,ftlatter; vas at" dem" rib* 13 the by inafter` described.;`

formed by swaging, this beinggaccomplished, if desired, by applying apair of the portion to be swaged and then bringingfthe dies Atogether tohead up the portion ,between4 the dies. The numeral 11 designatesasocket member preferably constructed of wrought metal and formed bystamping outa blank and ,I then drawingllthe `salne't'ofthe shape shown.The end--V wall-fof 'thisi socket member has ani-opening which closelyreceives the pro# ]ect1ng`,stud- 14.21-.T numeral 16 desig-` dx :awingoperati-ons. This reinforcing cup` which' is of suchfsiz'e ,and shape as'to fit .snuglywithinnthe Closed ,end ofthe socket adapteditocloselyfeceive the stud 14. The

the?rstlldfgplfi.vbyV 'dingegthe outer end of Tlsfheading operation 5walls of the socket ,re itightly clamped or feed 17 and theshoulbtaining great rigidity-and'strength- T ,'16 is of advantage inthat it ,re rife es tlie socket member, Y Y e latter linposition on the:stud M; and theedge thereof may form afseat foca airing` member, asherehe side wall of the ening18 through socket member 1s which isinserted the case may be.

The ball and socket connections at the ends of the drag link alsohavefeatures of novelty and-advantage. Within each Aor the socket members 11is, at least, one bearing member 20 in the form of a concave-convex disken aging the ball, a spiral spring 21 resilient y maintaining the disk20 against the ball, and a nut 22 threaded into the open end of thesocket member. In the arran ementon the `left hand endof the drag ink,the closed end ofthe nut 22 and the disk 20 form a socket so to speakfor the ball e, the s ring 21 bein positioned between'the disik socketmember 11. In the arrangement on the right hand end of the drag link,the ball c is positioned in the. socket vformed by a pair of disks 20,one lof these disks being seated against the shouldery provided by the.'thecup'are 'secured on c or the ball e as 2Q and the'c osed end of theouter end of the cup 16 and the other disk metal to the shape shown, t eclosed end` of the nut being dished so that it may form a sphericalbearing surface for a ball.

When the nut 22 is to be used as shown in the left hand side of Fig. 2,the kerf 22a is in the skirt of the nut, and when used as shown in theright hand side the kerf 22'J is in the closed end of the nut. Cotterpins 23 (shown bydotted lines Fig. 2) may be employed to preventaccidental displacement of the nuts 22.

It is, of course, obvious that the invention is susceptible of variousmodifications and changes which are Within the spirit of the inventionwithout departing from the scope of the following claims, it beingunderstood that the present disclosure of the invention member, a.reinforcing cup therein, a bearis by way of illustration only and it isnot to be taken as restrictive of our conception.

What we claim is 1. In a ball and socket connection, a socket ing memberfor said ball seated upon the end of said cup, a bearing member to theother side of said ball, a spring for retaining said second bearingmember against the ball and a nut closing the outer end of the socketmember.

2. In a drag link.l a link section, an internally threaded socket memberon each end thereof, a ball and a s ring in each socket member, a nutscrewed into the outer end of each socket member and comprising an eX-ternally threaded skirt portion and a dished end, the nut in one of saidsocket members having its dished end engaging the ball therein and thenut in the other of said socket members being in reverse position withits skirt receiving said spring and its closed Aend forming `an abutmenttherefor.

3. y In .a drag link for automobile steerin(r connections, thecombination of a shouldered rod having a headed stud, a cup-shapedbearing-containing member having an internal cup-shaped reinforcingmember, said members being held between said shoulder and stud, and abearing supported on the rim of said inner cup member.

4. In a drag link for automobile steering connections, the combinationof a shouldered rod having a headed stud, a cup-shapedbearing-containing' member having an internal cup-shaped reinforcingmember, said members being held between said shoulder and stud, and abearing supported on the rim of said inner cup member, said bearingconsisting of a dished piece of sheet metal.

5. A drag link, comprising alink section, a drawn metal, internallythreaded bearing-containing member at each end thereof, a ball and aspring in each of said bearing containing' members, a nut screwed intothe outer end of each of said members formed of a dished piece of sheetmetal and having an externally threaded skirt portion, the nut 0f one ofsaid bearing-containing members having its dished end engaging the balltherein and the nut of the other of said members being in reversedposition with itsskirt receiving said spring and its closed end'formingan abutment thereof, the bearing on the opposite ,side of the ball ineach of said'members being formed of a dished piece of sheet metal.

6. A drag-link for automobile steering connections comprising a linksection, a drawn sheet metal member for containing a bearing, said linksection having a head within said member for securing said partstogether, and a'ball bearing part consisting of a piece of'dished sheetmetal having a skirt around it., and a spring nested within the skirt.

FRANK P. rianiDLE.l RALPH H. BOARDMAN.

